SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission awaits favorable weather for Dragon’s splashdown

SpaceX has officially announced that it’s standing down from tonight and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch for the Polaris Dawn mission due to unfavorable weather. The company said the weather is crucial for this mission and needs to be favorable in order to complete the Dragon splashdown.

“Due to unfavorable weather forecasted in Dragon’s splashdown areas off the coast of Florida, we are now standing down from tonight and tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch opportunities of Polaris Dawn. Teams will continue to monitor the weather for favorable launch and return conditions” wrote SpaceX.

“Our launch criteria are heavily constrained by forecasted splashdown weather conditions. With no ISS rendezvous and limited life support consumables, we must be absolutely sure of reentry weather before launching.” wrote Jared Isaacman, Mission commander on social media site X.

SpaceX Falcon 9 with Dragon Spacecraft standing vertical on Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida (Source – SpaceX)

The weather conditions remain unfavorable and teams will assess the situation around the launch scenario. Polaris Dawn is a commercial human spaceflight mission in partnership with SpaceX. After liftoff, the Dragon spacecraft will lead astronauts to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown.

Then, the crew will perform the first commercial spacewalk around 700 kilometers above the Earth. These astronauts will quip SpaceX-designed extravehicular activity spacesuits. The mission also aims to research the health impact of humans on Earth and in space for long-duration spaceflights.